Wish You Were Here
by rockyshadow
Summary: Taylor finds comfort in a postcard she received from Chad after he was killed in a plane crash. Based on the song by Mark Wills


**Disclaimer**: I don't own High School Musical, nor do I own "Wish You Were Here" of which the title and some plot points are borrowed. They're owned by Disney and Mark Wills

"You need to make sure you have everything before we get to the airport. You're probably forgetting something already," scolded Taylor Danforth as she hovered over her husband, Chad while he was packing

He knew that she was nervous and just grinned at her as he continued to put the belongings he needed in his suitcase. She had always been like this so it rarely bothered him when she would get in these moods anymore. He actually found it cute most of the time. As she continued her nervous nagging he went out to their car and put his bag in the trunk. She was going to insist on driving them, so he settled in to the car and waited for her to come outside so they could go.

She kept checking if she had locked all the doors and checked the windows too. Chad saw what she was doing and just rolled his eyes.

"Taylor, come on. You're the one that told me that we had to get going," he tried to reason with her while watching her do the whole process one more time before she finally entered the vehicle

He noticed that she was giving a death grip to the steering wheel, but thought nothing of it. He knew she would eventually tell him what was wrong. He tried to strike up a conversation, but she wasn't talking.

She dropped him of at the Albuquerque International Sunport, the local airline. He was a basketball recruiter for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, the city's D league team, and needed to go on a scouting trip to Texas to find new players. They had just recently gotten married and didn't want to be separated so soon. People who were boarding and leaving their flights surrounded them. After they kissed goodbye at the terminal gate she told him that he was going to be late if he didn't get going. The couple held each other a moment longer before remembering that people were expecting and counting on him.

Unfortunately, in the weeks leading up to it she had been getting a very uncomfortable feeling about his plane ride. She had told him nothing about it in all that time. She was thinking that something might happen to him and the other people on the flight. She wasn't prone to premonitions, so this was very odd. When she told him what was bothering her he tried to reassure her that nothing would go wrong. He didn't think she looked too comforted by his attempt. He gave her a hug and headed toward the flight attendant who was taking the tickets. He turned toward her and gave her one last wave then readied himself to board the plane.

Chad took out a postcard from his carry on luggage before he put it in the overhead compartment. The picture on the postcard was of the ocean and the beach and said "Heaven". He had no idea why he had gotten that particular one, but it didn't really matter now. He hadn't been on his flight for very long and he already missed Taylor and wished that she could have come with him. He was very worried about her, because she was normally never as upset about things as she was when he got on the plane. He wrote a note on the postcard that he hoped would reassure her better than he had in person. The simple note he wrote her, said he loved her, and he'd hold her if his arms could reach.

"_Wish you were here, wish you could see this place, wish you were near, wish I could touch your face. The weather's nice, it's paradise, it's summertime all year. Some folks we know they say 'hello.' I miss you so. Wish you were here."_

Taylor's uneasy feeling just wouldn't go away, as she drove from the airport back to their home. She couldn't get it off her mind, but he had promised to call her when he arrived at his destination, so she hoped she would feel better by then. As she busied herself making her solitary dinner she heard the phone ring. Thinking it was Chad she quickly ran to the phone receiver, but instead of the husband she had expected to hear on the other end of the line it was her friend, Kelsi Evans, who told her to turn on her television to the national news. When she did, she discovered that the top news story was the flight Chad had boarded earlier that day. She was in shock, but managed to answer the phone calls from her family and close friends.

Mr. and Mrs. McKessie and Taylor's older sister, Jordan arrived early the next morning with Gabriella and Troy Bolton not far behind them. Taylor was relieved that no one had come by airplane. She knew it was going to take awhile for her to ever want to take a ride on one again. Throughout the day her and Chad's coworkers and their neighbors were coming to offer their condolences She was still feeling stunned and her dad and Troy took it upon themselves to handle all of her guests. Later Chad's parents came to the house and Gabriella, Jordan and Mrs. McKessie took turns trying to comfort them. Her in-laws tried to leave not long after they arrived claiming that their mood was making Taylor even more depressed.

The following day there were less visitors and everything was quieter around the house. Everyone was still sad of course, but now they had to start making arrangements. That was something Taylor was definitely dreading. She didn't even want to think about it. Gabriella and Troy had promised to help her and would come with her to the funeral home. She broke down again as she entered the building, and wasn't able to help with anything. The Bolton's were the ones who ended up handling everything after she haded them her carefully planned arrangements since she just couldn't handle it. She sat in her car and waited for them, she felt bad about leaving everything to them since she felt that it was her responsibility.

Months later she went out to the mailbox to get the mail. Underneath the bills and fliers was a postcard from Chad. It was from the night he died. She screamed and began to cry again. It was like he was talking to her from beyond the grave. She did find it a little creepy, but also very comforting in a strange sort of way. She felt that he was still with her when she read it. Sometimes she really needed that feeling.

Taylor began to reminisce about Chad and their time together during their high school years. For the first two and a half she spent it pretending to hate him and trying to ignore him. The remaining year and a half was spent scheming with him to get their best friends back together twice and they both participated in the musical during their senior year. Her favorite memory of that time in their lives though was when he asked her to the prom in front of everyone in the cafeteria. She had loved to teach him the best ways to get her attention. Her memories of him would be something she would have for the rest of her life and for that she was thankful. She would take some comfort in rereading the postcard he wrote her over and over again. Eventually she was able to slowly move on with a little help from her family and friends.


End file.
